Together, Forever, I promise
by Bobbitty
Summary: FIRST CHAPTER HAS BEEN REWRITTEN! PLEASE REREAD IT! This is a BobbyxKitty story. When everything goes wrong, will love help them through? Or will it be their ultimate downfall?
1. Trouble Starts

**This is a story about two X-Men: Iceman and Shadowcat. They must go on an adventure to save their fellow teammates but through this adventure, they learn more about themselves and each other.**

**This is their first chapter.**

"Another Saturday. Another day wasted," Bobby stated, his face blankly staring ahead of him. He remembered a time when the mall was actually fun, but these were different times. Kitty had invited practically the whole mansion to go to the local mall for a "fun day out." Things have been quiet in the city so the X-Men thought it would be a nice way to relax, but Bobby craves the excitement. He loves how the X-Men trample all their enemies and he loves how after it's all done, the battlefield looks like a piece of art. It's a creepy way of thinking, especially after you could have died in that battlefield, but it was just … special. He didn't know how to put it, but it was like the battlefield was symbolic of the X-Men; how powerful they are, how unique he feels to be part of them. He almost wishes some kind of villain will strike, just so he can actually become Iceman again, but looks like the X-Men are _too_ good at their job.

"How do I look?"

Bobby jumped up in surprise and immediately turned his eyes to the source of the voice, his eyes caught up with a girl in a knee length red dress. Her hand was straightening her long, brown hair, her foot tapping a steady beat as she became slightly impatient. Her eyes sparkled like a diamond as she stared back at him, awaiting his response. Bobby couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. She wasn't the same girl he met when he was only 15.

"Beautiful," Bobby simply muttered out, his face blushing just a tiny bit. Kitty smiled a full smile to Bobby, flattered by his unusual compliment. She could remember a time when Bobby used to endlessly annoy her. She could remember how angered she was by some of Bobby's so-called pranks and immaturity. "Grow up" were the words she viciously lashed out at him when he died her hair pink. She was so furious then, but now she feels that was silly as her. She appreciated the fact that Bobby had spend most of his free time with her, even if he was annoying at the time. She never received that kind of attention before, not even from her parents. It was like Bobby actually wanted to know her, not even her best friends cared so much for her as Bobby did.

But did Bobby just compliment her? She has known him for almost four years, and although Bobby had said nice things about her, Bobby seemed different now. Before he always complimented her in a childish way, seeming like he didn't mean half of it or he just threw the compliment out there to be nice. But now, he seems sincere. He seems totally honest. He's different. Kitty almost misses the 100% immature Bobby, but now that she thinks more deeply about it, he's still the fun Bobby, but more caring and considerate. He had changed and Kitty didn't even notice it until now. Was it because they spent so much time together that the change seemed to just blend in that she didn't even notice? Or was it because she was just too blind to see it?

She didn't have much time to think about it as Angel came up with an impressive amount of boxes containing various items such as electronics and clothes.

"Looks like the rich kid bought out half the mall," Bobby joked.

But Kurt followed behind Angel and his stack was even more impressive. He was struggling to hold up the boxes as the gigantic tower of shopping bags started to shake.

"Uh oh," Kurt said, his eyes staring at the boxes. "It's going to fall!"

Luckily, Kitty was able to phase through the falling boxes without anyone noticing. Angel and Bobby, however, were not as lucky as they fell from the pressure of the boxes.

"Nice going," Bobby said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Don't be a Wolverine," Kurt retorted, throwing a box at Bobby.

Bobby was about to use his powers and freeze Kurt but Storm quickly came to settle everything.

"You guys!" Storm yelled. "You're starting a commotion, do you want people to pay attention to us?"

"Sorry," all threw of them said in unison, their eyes trying to avoid eye contact with those of Storm's. They were just thankful that it was Storm who came, not Wolverine.

And ironically, just then, Wolverine comes and shows up, with quite an angry look on his face. He was resisting the urge to slash up a store, but he decided that it will be better in the long run if the didn't.

"And what were you guys thinking?" Wolverine snarled.

"It was an accident, relax Wolverine," Jean calmly stated as she used her telepathy to read everybody's mind. The telepathic and telekinetic unit was holding hands with Scott Summers, her boyfriend who has a reputation for sometimes being too serious.

"I know what you're thinking, and Wolverine is not right," Jean quietly said to Scott, only so he can hear. "Kids will be kids, let them have some fun. We weren't much different from them a little while back, or at least I wasn't. Let loose a little."

Scott just smiled back. He didn't really agree with Jean, but she did have a point. Anyways, he really have to let loose a little if he wants keep a girl like Jean. He didn't understand it, but he doesn't know where he would be without Jean. It seems corny, but he knew that Jean made him a better person. Jean, reading his mind with her telepathy, just giggled a little. "Oh Scott," she thought. She knew he always was too serious but it's too cute when he becomes just slightly more sensitive.

"I will never understand what is wrong with you kids," Wolverine said, shaking his head. He loves the X-Men (thought he will never admit it), but sometimes they could be such a headache. People always seem to think he's the "tough" guy but he never understood it. Was it too hard to not act stupid? Anyways, if anybody could even comprehend his past, they would know there's a plethora of reasons why he never likes to open up.

"This is what happens when you guys feel like the MRD or Brotherhood has stopped," Wolverine glumly stated.

"Oh lighten up Logan," said Emma Frost, now joining the circle of X-Men. "We're at the mall, I thought you might actually do some relaxing things, but here you are, complaining once again."

"I, for one, am happy that we can relax," Rogue stated, as she too came in the circle of X-Men. "I sucked up way too many MRD memories."

"I would appreciate if the newly designed Blackbird Jet can actually be used though," Forge chimed in, "So I'm going to have to agree with Logan on this one."

And Bobby couldn't help but agree with Logan as well. Like before, he couldn't stop thinking about the thrill of defeating some MRDs or the Brotherhood. He enjoyed the adrenaline too much and there just haven't been a good way to get rid of all his excess energy other than Danger Room sessions, and those are nothing to be desired. He was about to say something when Kitty grabbed his arm and started forcing him to walk away.

"Come on!" she said cheerfully and full of excitement, "There's this new store and you have to see it!"

"On second thought... The MRD and Brotherhood can wait," Bobby thought, "I think I have just found something even more fun to do." He told Kitty a joke and the smile on her face and the sound of her laugh made him more excited and gave him more adrenaline than any battle ever could.

__________________________________________________________________________________

In a dark lair at unknown location, Mystique and an unidentified figure are having an conversation.

"I'm ready to carry out the plans," Mystique stated, talking to the figure in the shadows.

"Good, good. Did you get the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle, Brotherhood, and the MRD to join?"

"The MRD was a little stubborn, but I was … convincing. They have agreed to send us a few Sentinels for the project."

"Then start the plan right away, and don't mess up," the mysterious figure warned.

"Oh, I won't," Mystique reassured him. "The X-Men _will _be destroyed."

But yet, Mystique felt something wrong inside. She knows what she is doing isn't exactly remarkable, but she doesn't care. The X-Men have been getting in the way of her one true goal and she needs them out of the way, permanently. There is just one thing, and that one thing, or person, is Wolverine. "Sorry James, but I have to do this," she whispered to herself, but it didn't make herself feel better one bit.

Mystique quickly gathered up the Stepford Cuckoos of the Hellfire Club to attempt to get rid of the X-Men. She hopes that one powerful, simultaneous attack from the Cuckoos can get rid of the X-Men or at least cause enough damage to handicap them from interfering with her plans.

**"**Get ready, Stepford Cuckoos," said Mystique, somewhat anxious. She didn't know if she can rely on just five telepaths to be able to defeat the X-Men. According to the Hellfire Club, the Cuckoos could release the Phoenix Force from Jean, which should do the job, but Mystique was skeptical. If this doesn't work, her one goal can be destroyed.

"We are," said all five of the Stepford Cuckoos, all at the same time. The eyes of the Stepford Cuckoos turned purple as they launch a telepathic, psychic attack on the X-Men.

The Professor was talking to Wolverine at this time when he felt a sharp pain in his head.

"Charles, are you alright?" Wolverine asked, surprised by Charles's sudden movement, but all Charles could do was clutch his head in a vain effort to stop the pain.

Not a few feet off, Emma was having the same issue and she too clutched her head. She tried to use her telepathy to find the source of the attack but her head was in too much turmoil to pinpoint the source. She focused on a little more but all she could find out was that the attackers were near the mansion.

"Attackers...near...mansion," was all she can mutter out to Storm, who was now approaching Emma to find out what was going on. Emma was quickly subdued later as the psychic attack and fatigue from pinpointing the attackers overwhelmed her.

And not a few feet off from Emma, Jean was having greater issues with Scott next to her. Scott was trying to help her but he didn't know what was going on. Jean was unable to think straight, as she can only feel the pain from the attack. Inside her head, she found herself in a weird room, one that seemed from another dimension. But she could see something glowing near the room, only a few feet from her. She walked closer to it to find that it was a bird, a phoenix to be precise. Jean forced herself to suppress the Phoenix Force as the force was too destructive and powerful for her to control.

She figured that this must be the part of her mind that it was suppressed into and that the recent psychic attack had somehow allowed her to feel like she is there. Suddenly, she started to be dragged towards the Phoenix Force. She tried to fight it but she got closer and closer to the Phoenix, and she did not know what was dragging her closer towards it. Soon, she was just a few feet away. Then it was only 3. Then 1. Then combined into it, and she could feel it's power overwhelm her helpless body.

Then _**bam!**_ Jean has unleashed the power of the Phoenix Force to stop the attack. The force knocked everybody unconscious, including the X-Men, Cuckoos, and Mystique. But as quickly as it has happened, it stopped, and Jean mysteriously disappeared.

After several minutes, Wolverine was the first one up with his mutant ability that allows him to have enhanced healing. He saw the destruction and also noticed that the Professor, who just one feet away from him a moment ago, has disappeared as well. He looked around and found that the whole X-Men were incapacitated, and he had no idea what just happened.

Mystique, on the other hand, quickly woke up and ran back to the secret lair while carrying all the Cuckoos. She quickly saw the other X-Men knocked out and Wolverine walking around, sniffing and working like a detective. The plan did not work as well as she would have liked, but it seemed to have at least injure the X-Men. But most of all, she was happy Wolverine was alright, even if he will be looking to kill her later.

She quickly reached the lair and told the mysterious figure everything that has happened.

"Minor complications," the figure responded. "It's interesting how Jean and the Professor disappeared. Did Emma disappear?"

"No, she's still there," Mystique replied.

"How strange..." the mysterious figure pondered for a little bit. "You do have a back-up plan right?"

"Of course," Mystique said, smiling sinisterly. She was hoping that her back up plan wouldn't go to waste.

"Very well," as the mysterious figure stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself as Sinister. "The X-Men shall fall."

**A week later:**

"Anything Beast?" Wolverine asked Beast. His face was full of worry, a rare sight to see. Wolverine just paced around the room while Beast was working, his head was low, and his hands moved around nervously.

"I'm afraid I do not have any information about the Professor's recent disappearance," Beast replied, "But you did mention you picked up Mystique's scent as well as five other unidentified mutants."

"Anything about Magneto?" Wolverine asked. Magneto seemed to be the best suspect.

"I was unable to find any evidence that magnetism was used, and you didn't detect his scent, so the probability that it was Magneto was slim."

"We don't know where Mystique is, so Magneto is the only person we got. I'm not going to stand here while Charles could be in trouble."

"I suppose..." Beast said, "We could pay him a visit tomorrow."

From behind the door, Kitty and Bobby heard everything.

"I can't believe Jean and the Professor disappeared," Kitty stated, her face showing an obvious expression of nervousness.

"And Emma is still unconscious," Bobby continued. "I just hope that everything will be solved soon."

"Me too," Kitty said, hugging Bobby. She felt as if she needed to just feel his embrace with the recent events going on. And it did make her feel better. His warm embrace felt nice against the cold atmosphere with the Professor gone. Bobby was surprised by his friends sudden action but her embrace felt nice too. He couldn't help but hug her back and rest his head on hers. They both felt a sudden connection, something that both of them didn't expect.

**In the morning:**

"X-Men!" called Wolverine, in his infamous shrill tone. "Hurry and get up! We're going to Magneto's today to get some answers on yesterday's attack."

Storm and Beast got ready quick. Scott was still next to Jean on her hospital bed in the Institute. "Everything will be all right," Scott told Jean. "We'll find a way to get you up. Don't worry, I'll be here for you." With that said, Scott got ready too, hoping that this trip can get some answers in helping Jean.

Bobby got up and ran to the bathroom in nothing but a pair of boxers on. As he ran to the bathroom he bumped into Kitty who was running to her room as she was just using the bathroom a few minutes ago.

Kitty looked up and saw Bobby with only his boxers on. "Oh, um...hey Bobby!" Kitty said nervously.

"Um, hey?" replied Bobby, somewhat confused.

"Um...I need to go!" exclaimed Kitty as she phased through Bobby.

"Girls," thought Bobby as he walked to the bathroom, "And they said boys are confusing."

"Wow," thought Kitty as she phased through the door to her room. "Bobby is gorgeous," thought Kitty as she started to get ready to go to Genosha to visit Magneto.

When they reached Genosha, they couldn't find Magneto right away.

"Guess we have to show ourselves in," Wolverine said as all of the X-Men entered the Magneto's castle.

"This place is too big. Let's separate," commanded Wolverine. "Angel, you go North. Storm go South. Beast go East. Nightcrawler, you go West. Rogue, go Northeast. Iceman, take Southeast. Shadowcat, go Northwest. I'll go Southwest. Go X-Men!"

And with that, the X-Men went their separate ways looking for Magneto. Angel flew everywhere looking for anything but found nothing. Storm had the same misfortune. Beast wounded up in Magneto's science lab and was intrigued by some of his equipment but found no Magneto. Nightcrawler teleported in every small space and crack he could find but still nothing. Rogue didn't find anything either.

As Bobby searched for any sign of Magneto, a crying girl started running down the hall with her face in her hands and tears falling to the ground. She accidentally bumped into Bobby.

"Oh sorry," the girl said. She looked up at Bobby and noticed how beautiful his face was. His eyes were a perfect shade of blue and he had the best smile the girl has ever seen. Looking at his smile even made her smile, even just a little bit.

"It's OK," Bobby said. He noticed the girl crying. He never liked when he sees someone upset and he tries his best to make them feel better. "What's wrong?"

"It's...it's nothing. It doesn't concern you," the girl said, her eyes showing helplessness.

"That's fine. Anything I can do to help?" Bobby replied. He put her head towards her shoulder and cradled it to make her feel better.

"It's just that...my boyfriend just broke up with me and I was trying to find my sister."

"It's OK," cooed Bobby. "Just calm down and relax. He isn't worth it if he broke up with someone as pretty as you."

"Thanks," the girl responded, starting to cry less, "By the way, my name is Polaris."

"My name is Bobby," Bobby replied. "And sorry for intruding on your home, I'm just looking for Magneto."

"Oh, he's in the Southwest corridor," replied Polaris. Normally she would have to attack him and attempt to take him into one of Magneto's prison cells, but she quickly decided to make an exception- just for him. They both stayed silent for a minute and gazed into each other's eyes until they finally kissed.

Kitty phased through the wall, hoping to talk to Bobby, but she noticed them kissing. Kitty, stunned, just stood there. All the memories she had with Bobby just raced through her mind but what she recalled the most was him saying that he will always be there for her. It felt as if he already broke that promise.

She didn't know what to do, she was tempted to go right up and phase Polaris through the Earth. Or better yet, Bobby. How could he do this to her? Sure, they weren't having a romantic relationship but she just felt so angry that he seems to like someone more than her. Another side of her, however, felt as if she shouldn't feel this way. Who is she to be mad at how someone run's their life? It's not like he's cheating on her, they weren't going out. But why does it feel this way? It feels like he is cheating. Kitty felt as if all those nights she spent with Bobby, all those memories were worthless. She felt as if Bobby had changed. Changed for the worse. The old Bobby wouldn't do this to her, right? Unfortunately, she didn't have time to finish her thought as Bobby and Polaris stopped kissing.

"Sorry," Bobby said as he withdrew, blushing.

"It's...it's OK," replied Polaris, also nervous about what had just happened. "I'll just go find my sister. Good luck with whatever you need from my father." Polaris turned towards Kitty direction and started walking.

Kitty, still heartbroken, phased through the ground and walked away from Bobby.

**Meanwhile:**

"What's your problem, Magneto?" snarled Wolverine, who had finally found Magneto in his metal room. "What did you do to Xavier?"

"My dear Wolverine, I have no idea what you are talking about," replied Magneto, truly not knowing what has happened.

"It's about Charles," Wolverine replied, getting angry. "He disappeared. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

With that said, Wolverine drew his claws and lunged at Magneto, but Magneto dodged.

"My dear Wolverine, I know nothing about this, but you cannot come here and attack me in my own home!"

Magneto retaliated by summoning metal, changing it into spikes and attacking Wolverine. Wolverine, with good reflexes, used his claws to block all the spikes. As Magneto drew up a metal wall, a thunderbolt knocked off his helmet followed by an optic blast to the head as Storm and Cyclops came to help.

"Get away!" exclaimed Magneto. He drew his helmet back to his head and as about Storm was about to summon a whirlwind from her hands, he threw a sheet of metal at her that trapped her. Cyclops shot another optic blast but Magneto blocked it with a metal wall and threw it at Cyclops, who used another optic blast to deflect it.

Wolverine came from behind and attacked Magneto using his claws, but Magneto threw him against the wall using the metal from his own skeleton.

Nightcrawler came up from above and grabbed Magneto's helmet and then teleported away with it.

"Fiend!" yelled Magneto but Beast tackled him to the ground.

Magneto managed to turn the surrounding metal to turn into claws and one of the picked up Beast, who helplessly struggled to break free.

Iceman and Shadowcat entered and Iceman used his powers to freeze Magneto. However, Magneto broke loose and fired some metal walls at Iceman, who formed an ice wall. Magneto kept firing metal walls and eventually overpowered Iceman's ice wall.

"Kitty, help! Phase me!" yelled Iceman, but Kitty just stood there. She was still angry at Bobby for kissing Polaris, and didn't exactly know what to do. She wasn't exactly known as being friendly when she was deeply angered.

The metal walls hit Iceman and he too, was trapped.

Just when Magneto was about to attack Shadowcat, Wolverine came up from behind and put him in a chokehold, with his claws perfectly visible to Magneto.

At this point, Angel and Rogue finally came in when the battle was over.

"Now, bub, tell me what you know about Charles or kiss your head good-bye," said Wolverine in an unforgiving tone.

"I honestly know nothing! Wolverine!" exclaimed Magneto, actually somewhat scared.

"I think he's telling the truth," said Storm, as she freed herself from the metal wall she was trapped in. "We looked everywhere, and still no sign of the Professor."

"And what possible motive could I have for capturing him?" said Magneto, following Storm's lead. "If I consider the X-Men that much of an enemy, I would have attempted to attack you all at once, not just kidnap Charles. He was an old friend in case you have forgotten."

"I don't trust you Magneto," Wolverine stated, "I'll let you go but if you try anything funny with the Professor or us...well, let's just say you better not."

Wolverine let Magneto go as the rest of the X-Men recovered from the recent battle.

"Wolverine," said Magneto, "If some third party had attacked Charles, I'll be happy to lend a helping hand."

"Thanks," Wolverine said, skeptical as to whether or not Magneto actually wants to help. "But no thanks. We'll be on our way now."

The X-Men returned back to the X-Jet.

"Hey, is there anything wrong?" Bobby asked Kitty. "You seem out of it in that battle."

Kitty, still upset with Bobby, bluntly and without expression replied, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You seem upset," Bobby asked, his face expressed sincere concern. Kitty was a little surprised to see it, but her anger still overtook her.

"I'm sure. It's not like I'm stupid. I can take care of myself," Kitty said, in an upset tone. She brushed past Bobby and walked on the X-Jet. Bobby could easily tell that Kitty was upset, but he didn't want to anger her more. After all, she did seem upset at him, but he didn't know why. He isn't happy if Kitty is this upset, but he hoped that everything will turn out fine.

**Back in the Institute:**

"Hey, Storm!" called out Forge. "You have important mail!"

"Oh?" replied Storm in wonder. "Who is it from?"

"It's um...Oh, it's your nephew, Evan!"

"Hmm, I haven't heard from him in a long time," Storm said in wonder as she opened up the letter.

_Dear Auntie O,_

_I haven't seen you in such a long time! Sorry I haven't stayed in contact much but I've been having some problems lately. My family has been arguing a lot lately and their having major issues. It's like so hard to concentrate on my own problems with the loud, annoying noise in the background. I hope talking to you can sort things out. I hope we can meet at the toy shop on 83rd street at 11 at night. Sorry it has to be so late, but my parents will never approve a visit so I have to sneak out._

_Love, _

_Evan_

"How strange," thought Storm, "Evan isn't usually the one that can't handle problems on his own. I guess this must be serious."

**At 11:**

"Evan!" cried out Storm. "Where are you?!"

"Evan's not here right now," replied Quicksilver.

"Quicksilver!" Storm exclaimed. "Get away!"

"Or what?" Dominoe teased. "You're outnumbered and out of luck." Avalanche and Blob were in the background. Toad was too scared to be anywhere closer than half a mile away.

Storm quickly used her powers to create a fog. None of the Brotherhood Mutants could see each other. She started to fly out but Quicksilver caught up.

"Not so fast," Quicksilver said. "You can't go faster than me." Quicksilver then let a quick punch to Storm, knocked her to the ground.

"Get away!" yelled Storm as she tried to shoot lightning bolts at him but Quicksilver was too fast to get hit.

Quicksilver ran over to her but Storm created a cyclone surrounding her. Quicksilver couldn't get near and the shots from Dominoe can never be lucky enough to go through winds of 700mph.

"Leave this to me," Avalanche said as he created crumbled a building down and creating a rock slide coming towards Storm.

Storm flew higher into the sky extending her cyclone upwards and to dodge the rock slide and started to cast massive hail on the Brotherhood. However, Blob used his body to block all the hail from harming his teammates. Seeing this, Storm summoned powerful winds from her hands and aimed them at Blob. Blob managed to stay in place for a few seconds because of his weight, but eventually he started to get flown back along with the other Brotherhood Mutants. Storm summoned one last lightning bolt to assure that they stay down.

Storm flew back down as she saw the Brotherhood all incapacitated. The battle was quick, Storm was obviously too powerful for the Brotherhood to handle. But she wondered what was happening, she thought it might be a trap but she just defeated the Brotherhood. Could it be that this could be part of a bigger plot, bigger than the Brotherhood?

"What was the point of that?" thought Storm before she suddenly fell to the ground.

The Stepford Cuckoos emerged from the shadows along with Mystique. The Cuckoos had used their psychic powers to knock out Storm.

"Very good." Mystique said as she transformed into Storm.

**Author's Note:**

As you can see, the first chapter has been rewritten. The plot is still exactly the same but some major changes have been made to make the plot seem less choppier. Please read and review this chapter!


	2. What is this feeling?

**This is a story about two X-Men: Iceman and Shadowcat. They must go on an adventure to save their fellow teammates but through this adventure, they learn more about themselves and each other.**

**This is their second chapter.**

It was a bright new day, and it was beautiful. Not a cloud in sight, the sun shined as bright as ever. Kitty got up from bed and got ready for a new day. She still wasn't over the fact that Bobby kissed Polaris but she started to recover and think about it. In the back of her head she was surprised that one kiss has her mind more occupied than the fact that the Professor is unconscious along with Jean and Emma.

"Come on, Kitty, focus. Bobby is just a friend. A damn good best friend, but still just a friend. I mean, you are freaking out over nothing. Bobby is nice, but still just a friend, right? Just calm down Kitty, just calm down. I don't like Bobby more than just a friend. He's great, funny, and I always enjoyed hanging around with him, but he still is just a friend," Kitty thought to herself as she sighed.

She continued to think of Bobby and all the times he made her laugh. She thought about all the time they spent together, all the time that they cried, and all the times that they helped each other go through whatever obstacle that had been bothering them.

She even remembered one very special Christmas back when they were both only 15.

_Every single one of the X-Men were getting ready to go home to their families for that one special day of the whole year. Yes, Christmas, the day of giving and gathering. The day in which no matter what had happened, families celebrate, talk, and forgive._

_But for now, it was just the day before Christmas Eve, that stupid day that you wish would just hurry up and end. Scott and Jean had already started their romantic relationship and decided to go back home to Pennsylvania. Storm decided to go back to her family in New York City. Angel, even with his complicated relationship with his father (since his father didn't like mutants too much), was looking forward to Christmas because it was the one of the few days in the year that his dad seemed to lighten up on the mutant issue._

_Rogue and Kurt, since they were technically brothers and sisters (as Mystique was their mom/adoptive mom, even if she is rather evil) decided to go on a vacation to connect with each other and headed off to Europe. Emma was going to spend the Christmas with a couple of friends at Los Angeles. Professor, Wolverine, and Beast didn't have much of a family so they stayed together for Christmas at the Institute._

_Bobby was going to return home to his family in Virginia and Kitty was returning home to Illinois. They were both planning on leaving at noon that day._

"_So this is it, huh?" Kitty said, looking for comfort in her friend. Both of them had gotten to know each other as X-Men very well and have already formed a strong friendship but they never have been apart from their fellow X-Men for that long, so they were a little hesitant and nervous. They were both sitting on the curb of the driveway, their parents would pick them up in any minute. She looked back at the Institute one last time. "I'll miss this place. Even if it is just a 2 week vacation," She thought._

"_I guess so," Bobby replied, "I haven't seen my mom and dad in such a long time. I wonder if they still have problems with mutants."_

"_Last time I saw my parents, they were arguing over me and my powers," Kitty said, in a sad tone. She hates remembering her parents. She knew they loved her, but they just never understood here. Not like Bobby. Not like the X-Men. No matter how she tried to talk about her mutant abilities with them, they never learned that mutants were just like people._

_Bobby leaned over and hugged her. He put the side of his forehead on her head. She could feel his blond hair brush up on her head, she could even feel his breath on her skin. "It's Christmas, cheer up," Bobby said to her head. Her heart start to sped up as Bobby got closer and it started to fell like the surroundings were getting much, much hotter. She didn't know how to describe the feeling, but she felt so much better when Bobby hugged her._

"_Hmph, I wish. You should have seen my parents before they agreed to leave me here. Part of me thinks the only reason they said "Yes" to me staying here is to just get rid of me. Like I'm some kind of problem."_

"_You're not a problem Kitty," Bobby reassured her, "You never are." Bobby smiled at Kitty. He enjoyed being with her near Christmas._

"_Thanks Bobby," Kitty said, giving Bobby an appreciative smile as a car rolled up on the driveway. She felt the warm feeling from her face spread through her body. "What is this feeling? Where is it coming from?" Kitty questioned to herself._

"_Looks like that's my ride," Kitty said to Bobby. "Bye Bobby, I'll miss you." Kitty winked at Bobby and got in the car. Now she felt a shiver as she remembered that she will be separated from Bobby as well as all the other X-Men. "What is causing these feelings?" She continued to question to herself._

"_I'll miss you too," Bobby said softly, but audible enough for Kitty to hear._

"_Oh wait!" Kitty half-screamed as she flung the door open so fast that it could have actually broke. "I can't believe I forgot," she thought. She dug in her pocket until she felt the small box. "Here," she said, stretching her arm and showing the small box to Bobby. "Your Christmas present," she said, wearing a smile reaching to her eyes._

"_Don't mind the size, it's better than it looks. I promise." Kitty winked again. Bobby was starting to find her winks very entertaining and interesting._

"_Thanks," Bobby said. His eyes lit up at the thought that Kitty would give him a present, but then his eyes turned dull for a minute, as if he was upset. Kitty noticed._

"_Anything wrong?" she asked._

"_It's just that, I didn't give you a present." Bobby said coldly, looking the other way._

"_It's OK," Kitty said. Deep down, she was disappointed that Bobby didn't bother to get her a present. She felt like part of her wanted to scream. Was she not important that he couldn't even remember to buy some chocolate or something? But she understood that Bobby has been busy with X-Men business lately and he probably forgot to give anybody a present. Still, wasn't she not special enough for one?_

"_Oh!" Bobby said, reaching out his hand as ice started to form into the form of a flower._

"_A rose," he continued, "Your favorite flower."_

_Kitty admired the beauty of it and amazed by the fact that Bobby would remember that a rose was her favorite flower, she must have only mentioned it once or twice. It may have been a last-minute present but it was still considerate._

"_I know it's not exactly the greatest gift ever, I'll make it up to you when you come back," Bobby said shyly, rubbing the back of his head and messing up his blonde hair._

"_Thanks," Kitty said, still admiring the rose, "See ya Bobby." She couldn't wait until she came back home. She wanted to see how Bobby "would make it up." Knowing him, it's going to be something hilarious yet meaningful. She would skip Christmas just to find out, but she got in the car and slammed the door._

_"Bye," Bobby said, with obvious sadness._

"_Bye," she replied, looking back from the car window until she couldn't see Bobby anymore. She hated the fact that it seemed like he just disappeared._

_Hours passed and Kitty was at home, listening to her parent's yells in the background._

"_It's almost Christmas, and yet they still yell," Kitty thought to herself, "Some Christmas, thought they might actually change."_

"_THE HELL?!" yelled Mrs. Pryde, Kitty's mom, "ALEX HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?! WE ARE NOT TURNING OUT OWN DAUGHTER TO THE MRD!"_

"_I NEVER SAID THAT!" yelled Mr. Pryde, just as loud as , "I SAID THAT THE MRD MIGHT HELP WITH KITTY'S POWERS."_

"_YOU REALLY ARE AN IDIOT," screamed Mrs. Pryde, "They are just going to take our daughter."_

_ started to cry and came over to comfort her._

"_Silence at last," Kitty thought. She sighed. "I miss the X-Men, I miss Bobby."_

_She jumped up at a thought. "I can always call him," she thought to herself. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed Bobby's number faster than Quicksilver could have. She waited for a few seconds, losing hope that he might pick up. Just as the call was about to go to voicemail, Kitty heard a click._

"_Kitty?" The voice on the other line seemed curious._

"_Bobby?" Kitty said with excitement. She felt relieved hearing her voice, something so familiar, something to allow her to forget the hell it was at home._

"_What's up?" Bobby asked. Kitty could imagine the smile on his face, the same kind he always had when talking to her. She wished she could see it for herself._

"_My parents suck," she replied bluntly, "How about yours?"_

"_They're OK," Bobby replied, happy to be talking to Kitty. "How bad are they?"_

"_Bad. Just bad. It's what you think and ten times worse."_

"_That bad, huh? You know, you could always stay with my family. They don't suck … that much."_

"_Very reassuring," Kitty said sarcastically. Bobby could imagine her signature smirk of sarcasm. She also missed his jokes. She missed everything about him and she couldn't stop herself._

"_Anyways," Kitty continued, "I don't think my parents would let me, but I would love to spend the Christmas with you. It's so unbelievably boring here. Half the relatives won't even talk to me, my parents argue nonstop, and the only people that will talk to me are old people and I rather wish they would ignore me too."_

_Bobby couldn't help but feel sad for her. After all, his family has been a lot more accepting. His parents still argued over his mutant powers but most of his cousins still talked to him and didn't care he was a mutant. Some of his relatives ignored him but for the most part his Christmas was actually going by better than he expected. He was even playing football with his cousins in the snow before Kitty had called._

"_Don't listen to them. They're stupid if they can't see how amazing you are when you're right in front of them," Bobby replied, hoping to make Kitty feel better._

"_You mean that?" Kitty said, she was blushing on the other end. She wanted to stop her body from feeling so warm, but she couldn't. Bobby's words stuck in her mind and the more she thought about them, the warmer she felt._

"_Every word."_

"_Thanks," Kitty said, "I wish you were here, Bobby. I really wish you were here." She really missed Bobby now. Before this conversation, she just missed him because she wanted another friend with her for Christmas. But now, she missed him because she really likes him. Loves him? "No way," she thought, "Just as a best friend, a true friend."_

"_Me too," Bobby said, "I missed you."_

"_Ugh, crap," Kitty responded, with a tone of annoyance, "Stupid family dinner, but really it's just a family dinner for anybody that isn't a mutant. I gotta go. Sorry."_

"_That's OK," Bobby said, disappointed that the conversation ended somewhat abruptly, "See you later."_

"_Bye Bobby," Kitty said, sadly, "If only you were here."_

_Then she hanged up. As soon as she did, she missed his voice. She just talked to him a second later, and it's just his voice. "What's wrong with me?" she thought, but then she heard Bobby's voice in her head. "Nothing, you're perfect," the voice said. She smiled a little._

_Bobby decided to continue his game of football but the Kitty's words kept coming back to his mind. "Wish you were here," Kitty had said. "Wish you were here..."_

"_Bobby! Pay attention!" yelled his cousin Sam._

_Bobby turned just in time to see the football land in the snow in front of him._

"_Good job!" yelled Sam, sarcastically, but Bobby still thought about what Kitty had said._

_Bobby went inside and admired his family's shining Christmas tree. "They really outdone themselves this year," Bobby thought to himself. The tree was so big that they had to place it in the kitchen, which had an elevated roof. There was so many decorations on the tree that it was a miracle that the tree didn't just fall down from the weight of the numerous ornaments. He saw the presents under the tree and remembered the one that Kitty had given him. He kept it in his pocket the whole time and he now took it out. It was small and hand-sized and wrapped in colorful wrapping paper. Bobby delicately opened up the present to discover a miniature, handmade Iceman action figure. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small folded-up note. He un-folded it and read what was written._

"_Bobby Drake, you may just be one, small person in this big world, but you impacted my life in such a huge way. I don't know what I'll do without you. Merry Christmas, wish you were here (in boring Illinois). Love, Kitty."_

_Again, the words "Wish you were here" occupied Bobby's mind. It's all that he could think about._

_During dinner, Bobby kept thinking about Kitty. "Wish you were here..." Bobby had imagined Kitty's face when seeing that. Her eyes filled with grief and sadness caused by her own family but happy at the thought that Bobby would be there at Christmas. Bobby suddenly got up after finishing his dinner and ran out the door._

"_Important Mutant business. The professor called and wanted me to come right after dinner," Bobby lied._

"_Is this trip really that important?" Bobby's mom questioned, hoping that his son could actually stay for Christmas._

"_Yes," Bobby called back. And this time he was telling the truth, this trip really was important. Very important._

_Bobby turned into his all-ice mode and created an ice slide. "This is going to take a while," thought Bobby._

"_Ktty, wake up! It's Christmas!" her mother called from downstairs._

"_Christmas," Kitty thought, "Would be special if my family had any brains." She groaned. She truly didn't like this Christmas. Yesterday, during Christmas Eve, her cousins decided to build a snowman. Kitty had nothing better to do, so she joined but she felt that daggers shot through her. She looked back and saw her cousins glaring at her. She truly did wish she could just beat them all up, but the little brats would just tell their parents and give them more reasons to hate a mutant._

_She went downstairs and waited until all her younger cousins had finished squealing and opening their presents. "Stupid brats," she thought. She then went and picked up her presents and headed to her room to open them. After she made sure there wasn't a pesky little cousin following her, she closed the door and began opening her presents._

"_Hmph," Kitty thought. Her presents actually weren't half bad. Despite the mutant hatred, her relatives had managed to give her a total of 200 dollars and some gift cards and her parents bought her a new cell phone. _

_But Kitty still felt upset. The Christmas spirit was just absent today. She didn't feel like talking to anybody. She wished that she would feel happy during this so-called special holiday. She smirked at what she had just thought of._

"_My wish," she said out loud, "Is that this Christmas would actually be special."_

_Just as she finished saying that, the doorbell rang._

"_I got it!" Kitty yelled as she ran down the stairs from her room to the door._

_When she opened the door, she gasped. She saw Bobby panting on his knees in his all-ice form._

"_Bobby!" Kitty yelled as she ran up to him. She was so happy that her friend had actually came at Christmas, but she was more shocked. So many thoughts crossed her mind, so many questions. She wanted to ask them but she just went up and hugged Bobby. "Questions can wait for one minute," Kitty thought as she put her head on his chest. She listened to his heart beat, she listened to her heart beat, she felt as if the beats were synchronized. Bobby's face lit up at the sight of her. After a lot of work, he had finally found Kitty._

"_I'm fine." Bobby replied, smiling, "Your house is really hard to find you know. I had to ask for directions at least 50 times and you know how hard it is when everybody is with their families at Christmas."_

_Kitty laughed at the joke. "So why are you here?" She asked, curious. "You had to cross a third of the country to be here."_

"_Heh," Bobby said, still catching his breath, "I missed you."_

"_I missed you too," Kitty said, softly. "Did he really come all this way just for me?" she thought to herself. She stared deeply into his blue eyes to search for the answer and he stared back at her brown eyes. Both of them felt themselves leave reality as they got lost in their eyes. It may be a little cheesy, but that was what she was feeling, something she never felt with anyone else before._

"_So are you going to just stand there or are you going to let me in?" Bobby teased._

"_You know what," Kitty said, surprised that Bobby would break such a moment. Thinking, she continued, "My family sucks, we'll have much more fun if we go ice skating."_

_"Ice skating?" Bobby asked, confused._

"_Yeah, there's a pond nearby here. It's frozen from the weather. I always wanted to go ice skating."_

"_Well I'm obviously good at ice skating. Hope you can keep up."_

"_We'll see," Kitty said as she gave Bobby a wink and pulled on his arm, not giving him a chance to catch his breath. She didn't want to waste a single minute with Bobby._

"_Hey!" Bobby yelled, surprised by her sudden enthusiasm._

"_No time to waste! Christmas only comes by once a year, the pond is just around a few corners."_

"_We'll if you want me there in one piece you have to slow down a little!"_

_The pond was beautiful when they finally reached it. The snow covered the surrounding trees and it was a white winter wonderland. _

"_Whoa," Kitty started, "Seems slippery." She cautiously took the first step on the ice but her second foot was still in snow to steady her._

"_Hold my hand," Kitty said, stretching her hand to Bobby. She hoped that he would accept her hand and not question it. She didn't think she could give a logical explanation that wouldn't cause her embarassment. "Please."_

"_Of course," Bobby said taking her hand, flattered that she would ask him in the first place._

_Kitty and Bobby then carefully went on the ice, but as soon as they were on it it felt like they were floating, away from all the problems of the cruel world. They started skating (or using their shoes to slide on the ice). Kitty grabbed onto Bobby's waist since she wasn't as experienced with ice. Bobby decided to have some fun and started moving quite fast on the ice._

"_Would it kill you to slow down?!" Kitty yelled as they sped on the ice at a dangerously fast pace. _

"_It's only fun this way," Bobby said through laughter._

_Kitty had to admit, it really was fun skating with Bobby. The surroundings may be cold but she felt warm hugging Bobby's waist. She eventually leaned her head against his back, as if it was a soft pillow. She trusted Bobby as they gracefully and swiftly moved on the ice._

"_Uh, Kitty," Bobby said nervously, "HURRY AND PHASE US."_

"_Huh?" Kitty mumbled as she escaped her trance just as she fell in a pile of snow._

"_Sorry, zoned out for a second," Bobby said as he got up and helped Kitty get out of the snow._

"_Good going, Iceman," Kitty teased. She picked up some snow and made it into a snowball. Giving Bobby an evil stare she lifted up her arm to a throwing position of a MLB pitcher._

"_Uh, Kitty, I said I was sor-," but before Bobby could finish his face was covered with white snow._

"_Well if that's how you want it," Bobby said playfully as he made a snowball and threw it at Kitty, who phased through it._

"_Sooo not fair," Bobby said._

"_Deal with it," she said as she threw another snowball._

_Hours passed as the two young mutants threw snowballs at each other. They created snow fortresses and waited at the right time to strike as if they were enlisted in the army. It may have just been the two of them and they may be a little too old to have an intense snowball fight but they didn't care. It was just too fun for both of them._

"_I think we should call it quits," Bobby finally said, his clothes incredibly wet._

"_You're only saying that cause you're losing," Kitty teased. She was pleased with the fact that she won a snowball fight against Bobby. It would be a funny thing to tease him about later._

"_I only hit you once," Bobby said, "I hate your power."_

"_Ha!" Kitty responded in laughter, "Oh look the sun is starting to set. I need to show you this beautiful hill near my town."_

_Bobby responded with a look of horror. "You are not dragging me there before I catch my breath, are you?"_

_Kitty gave a sinister grin._

"_Oh no," Bobby said but before he could say anything else, his arm was pulled and he was forcibly dragged as Kitty ran with excitement to her favorite spot._

_By the time they reached the spot on the hill, the sun was just about to set and Bobby and Kitty sat down on the grass next to each other as they witnessed the purple skies and the orange sun. They didn't say anything as they saw the breathtaking scenery. It soon turned to night and the stars started to sparkle._

"_So why did you come? For me?" Kitty asked, truly curious. She wanted to know whether or not he actually came for her._

"_You wish," Bobby teased, "But yeah, I did come for you. It's not like I came here for your lame family." Bobby blushed. So did Kitty._

"_Thanks," Kitty said under her breath. She didn't think her own parents would do that and here is Bobby, traveling a third of the country for her. He probably would have traveled the whole country if she lived in California or something._

_Bobby smiled back. "You know this has been a fun Christmas. Last Christmas the police came knocking on my door looking for mutants. Their technology wasn't so good then and since their was no obvious signs of anything unusual, they just left. But it still ruined half of the Christmas."_

_Kitty frowned thinking about that. She, herself, understands that feeling. The feeling of discrimination about being being a mutant. The amount of days that have been ruined simply because she was a mutant was countless. She decided to change the subject into something more happier._

"_How did you like your present?" she asked curiously._

_Bobby smirked. "It was a nice present, very special actually."_

"_Thanks," Kitty said, happy that her present was appreciated and received._

"_Sorry again," Bobby said in a more serious tone, "Even after all this time I still forgot to give you a present."_

"_Don't sweat it," Kitty said. She really didn't care that Bobby didn't give her a present anymore. She was just happy that he was there, it was really sweet._

_A shooting star passed by as both of them stared at the sky._

"_How appropriate," Bobby joked. "Can this night get anymore beautiful?" He thought to himself._

"_Yeah, so what did you wish for?"_

"_Hmmm?" Bobby said, surprised to be interrupted from his sight at the stars._

"_The shooting star, you're suppose to make a wish."_

"_Oh yeah, I'll tell you later."_

"_I'll tell you what mine is later then," Kitty replied, just a little sad he didn't tell her._

_They continued to stare at the stars, admiring their beauty._

"_So what is so special about this place?" Bobby asked._

"_Oh, nothing. It's just a place I come to every once in a while when I'm down at home because it's so beautiful here. There is a lake down there and the sun is so beautiful while the night is so peaceful. Whenever I'm upset back home at the institute, I go to Lake Victoria. It's just like here."_

"_Mhm," Bobby said quietly, as he processed what his friend just said._

"_Do you go anywhere special?" Kitty asked, she was really taking an interest into the workings of Bobby Drake._

"_Yeah, my bed," he joked, "Especially after a training session with Logan. Those things are brutal."_

"_I know what you mean. He makes us train even when we have homework to do."_

_"Ugh, thanks for reminding me of that math project we have to finish."_

_"You still haven't done it?! It's going to ruin your whole break."_

"_Doesn't matter. Not as long as you're here," Bobby said, softly, sweetly._

"_Are my ears hearing correctly?" Kitty asked, in fake disbelief, "Bobby Drake is actually complimenting someone?"_

"_Don't get used to it," Bobby replied, joking, "It's Christmas."_

"_You're not half bad yourself, Bobby," Kitty said._

"_Are you saying you like me?" Bobby teased, laughing._

_Kitty gave him a playful punch to the shoulder. "I'm saying that for a guy that pulls pranks on everybody, you're really quite nice."_

"_Are you saying that I'm not usually nice?" Bobby continued to tease._

"_I'm saying you're very nice Bobby, very nice," Kitty said sincerely._

"_Uh, thanks." Bobby blushed for a moment. "It's getting late, we should go home."_

"_Yeah we should." As much as Kitty hated to leave, Bobby was right. Her head was starting to feel heavy and her eyes were starting to droop and she did not want to fall asleep in the snow._

_The days passed by and the two talked, laughed, hugged, and had a lot of fun. On New Year's, Bobby and Kitty even took a picnic out in the snow. It was messy, but it was a whole lot of fun. They rode into town to witness the colorful array of fireworks being set off, signaling a new year for new adventures. They both watched in amazement at the sight._

"_Beautiful," Kitty said, simply amazed._

"_Like you?" Bobby replied, smiling._

_Kitty couldn't help but return the smile. "This is like the tenth compliment he has made about me," she thought. It wasn't that Bobby wasn't nice, but it's not like him to just say meaningful compliments every other time he spoke with somebody._

_Unfortunately, the fun only lasted so long and Bobby had to go home after a few more days._

"_Bye," Bobby said as he started to go out the door, "Thanks for the stay. It was a hell of a lot of fun and that was the best Christmas/New Year's I had in a long time."_

"_Same," Kitty said, not wanting Bobby to go. She didn't want to feel lonely again and she certainly didn't want the fun they both had in those days to go away._

"_Oh wait!" He said. "You never told me your wish that you made from the shooting star."_

"_Oh yeah," Kitty said, "It was to have a fun Christmas. Yours?"_

"_Ha, I wished that my parents wouldn't kill me when I got back home. But this really was a fun Christmas. I'll miss it. A lot."_

"_See ya back at the Institute," Bobby continued, smiling. He was heading down the driveway and about to go on his ice slide. Kitty didn't want Bobby to leave. She didn't the memories of him to leave, even if she would be able to see him in a only a matter of days. She didn't want him to leave her. She phased through the door and hugged Bobby one last time._

"_Thanks," Kitty said, "For being here. You gave me the best Christmas present of all, and that was coming here and giving me a fun Christmas. You even granted my wish while doing it."_

"_No problem," Bobby replied, giving her a giant bear hug. She felt the warm embrace of his body and the it felt as if the warmness has made her blood move faster since her heart started to pump incredibly fast. She's going to miss Bobby a whole lot more than she did before._

"_Well see ya," Kitty said, fighting back tears and she stood there as she saw him get on his ice slide. He looked back one last time and waved. "Am I really crying over Bobby?" she thought to herself._

_When she got back to the house, her pesky little cousin Jake was bothering her._

"_What a loser boyfriend," Jake sneered, "But I guess you can't get any better since you're a stupid mutant."_

_Just as Jake had finished his statement, a very swift and hard kick had connected to his head and he fell back._

"_Don't ever insult him, or me, ever again," Kitty warned, sternly, as she went up to her room. "I miss him already," she thought to herself. It felt as if a piece of her was missing as Bobby left._

Kitty continued to ponder on the memory. She and Bobby had been friends before that Christmas, but after that Christmas they had been a lot more relaxed around each other. They felt as if they could trust each other with their innermost secrets, it was really a special bond. They quickly came best friends soon after.

She smiled at the memory. "Doesn't mean I love Bobby," she reassured herself, yet she had that feeling inside. The feeling she has when she lies about something, but she ignored it.

She walked down the halls to observe the other X-Men doing what they did on every normal day. Angel was out happily flying with the birds, Beast was at the lab studying chemicals and trying to figure out the origin of the attack, and Wolverine was talking to Magneto.

"Wait! Wolverine is talking to MAGNETO?!" thought Kitty.

She immediately phased through the walls to confront both of them.

"What is going on here?!" Kitty asked with obvious anger in her voice.

"It's OK," Wolverine bluntly stated. "He's here to help."

"Help with WHAT?!" Kitty asked, obviously very skeptical.

"My dear child," Magneto said, "To get Charles back of course. My Acolytes have been hard at work. With 3 telepaths knocked out, it's obvious that it was caused by a telepathic attack. The X-Men has agreed for my family to stay here only until we figure out what has actually happened."

"Watch it Magneto," Wolverine warned, "I said you can stay in our guest room, which means if you try anything funny, the security system will wipe you out."

"Relax Wolverine," Magneto said, "We will figure out how this happened."

"Whatever," Kitty said, still skeptical. "But I will keep an eye on you. Don't think we want you on our side."

Kitty then walked out the door and with Magneto so near the X-Men, she needed some comfort. She decided to go find Bobby and talk to him about the current situation. After going upstairs, she phased into his room where he was still sleeping.

"Bobby," Kitty whispered, "Wake up."

Bobby rolled around in bed. "Mmmm, bacon," Bobby said, still mostly asleep. He started to drool on his pillow.

"Oh brother," Kitty said as she rolled her eyes as she gave Bobby a gentle, firm punch.

"HUH WHAT?!" Bobby half-yelled as he suddenly got up. He immediately saw Kitty's worried face and frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked, serious. He wanted to make sure Kitty was alright, it kills him inside if Kitty is ever upset..

"Did you hear?" Kitty said, in a rush. "Magneto and his Acolytes are going to stay here and try to find out the cause of the explosion. Can we trust him?"

"I'm not sure," Bobby said, pondering on the situation while getting up. "With Logan around, I'm sure he will keep an eye on him."

"I wish the Professor or at least Jean or Emma was awake, they can read his mind," Kitty stated.

"Yeah, but if they were awake then we wouldn't be in this situation, now would we?" Bobby stated. "Besides, no matter what happens, I'm sure the X-Men can overcome it."

"Yeah," Kitty said, "Yeah...yeah, we can. Thanks Bobby."

"Anyways, if anything ever happens, I promise I'll protect you," Bobby said in his joking voice, but he meant it with every ounce of sincerity in his body.

"I knew I could trust you to be there for me," replied Kitty, grateful that someone like Bobby would be willing to be there for her when she needs him. She went up to hug him and muffled in his chest, "Thank you," in a sweet, tender tone.

"I'm just cool," Bobby replied, laughing to himself. "Got my pun?"

"Yeah, of course I got it," Kitty said laughing. She didn't laugh because his jokes are funny (which they weren't); she laughed because the way Bobby looked at her when he said them, the way he says it just melts her away. She laughed because she loved being around him.

"Again," Kitty said, "Thanks. You always know how to make me feel better."

Bobby enjoyed the words she said to him. The fact that she comes to him for comfort, or the fact that she's always there when he wakes up to a new day, is all that he needs. He brushed Kitty's brown hair.

"No prob, what are best friends for?" Bobby replied, with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, best friends." Kitty said to herself, softly.

Kitty walked out of Bobby's bedroom as he went back to sleep. She walked down the hall to see Polaris and her sister, Wanda, the Scarlet Witch. Upon seeing them, her heart almost skipped a beat but she recovered.

"Remember Kitty," she thought to herself, "Bobby and I are just friends. Nothing more." But what was the feeling she had? She wanted to punch Polaris as soon as she saw her. Her eyes wanted to glare at her, she could feel adrenaline just by looking at her. Jealousy? No, can't be. She can't possibly be jealous because of Bobby. She just can't...

Nevertheless, Kitty went to find Rogue, who hopefully can comfort her on the current situation. Kitty found her outside on the porch, reading a book.

"Hey Rogue, can we talk?" Kitty asked.

"Sure, what's up?" Rogue responded, putting the book down.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to bother your reading," Kitty replied.

"Naw, it's OK. Book isn't even that good," Rogue assured her.

"Well, I need some advice. It's complicated."

"About relationships and love, right?"

"Well, it's not really about relationships..."

"Then what is it?

"I'm just confused."

"About what? Come on, Kitty. Tell me!"

"I … I just saw Bobby kissing Polaris back in Genosha. I … I don't know how … but I have this strange feeling inside.

Rogue pondered on how to respond. Finally, she said, "So, you're jealous? And you like Bobby?"

"NOT JEALOUS! And of course not!" Kitty pouted, quite loudly.

"So you are jealous and you do like him," Rogue stated, while laughing.

"Am not! Do not!"

"Then how can you be so upset from some kiss?"

"I don't know … I guess I'm just mad at him that Polaris can just walk into his life and be more important than me. It's like all the past memories I had with Bobby mean nothing."

Rogue tried to resist laughing, "You are so jealous."

"Hmmm," Kitty sighed as she put her head down on the table.

Rogue patted her back. "Come on Kitty, you know that Bobby likes you back."

"How would you know?"

"The way you two stare at each other. The way he hugs you whenever you're hurt. The fact that whenever you're upset he's the first person you run to. Whenever he's hurt in battle you always go up next to him. Oh, and one time, when he was in the hospital after a battle with Juggernaut, you were next to his bed the whole time. The connection you two have is so obvious Kitty, even Wolverine could smell it."

"What do I do then?"

"Tell him you love him."

"BUT I DON'T LOVE HIM!"

Rogue sighed, "Well then I guess you'll have to deal with him and Polaris."

Kitty groaned. She couldn't understand this. She doesn't want to believe she could possibly be in love with Bobby Drake. She never even considered it until she saw the kiss. "Damn Polaris," she thought. Now the kiss has caused her to feel angry, upset, even jealous. "This can't be happening," she continued.

"Oh brother," thought Rogue, "This is why relationships suck."

"Kitty," Rogue said, sounding more serious, "The way he looks at you. The way he smiles at you. It's not a coincidence. This Polaris thing, however serious it may be, is just teenage boy hormones or something. But he truly does love you."

"You think?" Kitty asked, curious.

"I know," Rogue stated bluntly.

Kitty didn't know whether or not Rogue was right. Her heart practically skipped a beat when the thought that Bobby loves her came to her mind. She wished she could feel his warm embrace right then and there and that he could help her in this tough time, like he always did.

"I hope I'm right," thought Rogue, "Relationships..."

Rogue sighed as she remembers the fact that her powers won't allow her to touch anybody.

Kitty walked down the hall and phased into her room. She lied onto her bed, thinking.

"How can I be jealous?" she thought, "This isn't normal. I never felt this way before."

Kitty thought about Bobby. His jokes, his personality, his smile, his body, everything. She realized she loved everything about him and she even wished that she could be with Bobby right at this moment. She remembers that every single timed that she ever felt upset, Bobby would be right next to her. Telling her that whatever was upsetting her wasn't worth it compared to her. He knew how to make her feel special, how to make her feel better.

When they were on missions, Bobby would always be there to help her when she needed it. If she was ever in trouble, Bobby would be there in a heartbeat, making sure she wasn't harmed. She loved the way he cared about being a hero, protecting other people. He really always was there for her. She didn't want to lose him to Polaris.

"But I don't love him," she thought, "I don't." Her brown eyes caught a glance at a dark cat-like sculpture. Bobby had actually made that for her for her 16th birthday. He teased that since her mutant name was "Shadowcat" that he made a sculpture of an all-black cat, like it was the shadow of a cat. The sculpture didn't turn out all that great, but she still loved her gift.

She smiled at the cat-like sculpture, then she thought about Bobby and her smile grew even more. The sculpture had made her recall every special memory she remembered with Bobby. She remembered when both of them managed to beat Juggernaut just by using teamwork. She remembered when both of them went on vacation last summer to the beach and how much fun they had. She remembered how nice Bobby always was to her.

She wasn't going to try to deny it anymore. She really was in love with Bobby and she was surprised how she couldn't have admit it sooner, and she wasn't planning on giving him up to Polaris anytime soon.

Just about as she was about to phase into Bobby's room to share her feelings, she heard another voice in the room.

"Polaris," Kitty said to herself, in some disgust. She decided to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Hey Bobby," Polaris said.

"Yeah?" Bobby replied.

"I know you and your teammates don't like my dad much, but he really does want to help."

"I'm sure he does."

"Look, we really are sorry for what happened to the professor and Jean and Emma, but my dad has nothing to do with it."

Bobby just sat their silent.

"I guess I understand," Polaris continued. "Anyways I have to thank you again for being there. I know you were a total stranger, but...you helped a lot."

"No prob," Bobby replied, with a smile on his face, "I seem to have a way in making people feel better."

"Yeah..." Kitty thought to herself.

"Quite a place you have here," Polaris said, "Back at home, I just stay at my room most of the time. My dad doesn't want me to see the whole world. I practically had to beg him to let me come here."

"Oh?" Bobby commented, intrigued by the green-haired girl, "Well over here the Professor is a lot more laid back, which may seem surprising. I remember, one time when I was only about 13, I put hair dye in Beast's shampoo and soap. He was hot pink for a week! I didn't even get in trouble."

Polaris laughed. "Seems like fun," she said, "I had to sneak Gambit in my room just so we could talk. My dad can be so overprotective at times..."

Polaris started to frown, so Bobby decided to hug her to make her feel better.

Kitty decided to take a look and she couldn't believe what she saw. After Polaris and Bobby hugged a little bit, they looked into each other like they did back in Genosha. Then they kissed. Kitty's heart felt worse then it had before. She wanted to run away, somewhere far away. Somewhere where she can just leave all her problems behind and not care about Bobby and Polaris.

"I can't believe this," she thought. With tears rolling down her face faster than she had ever experienced before, she went to her room.

Bobby and Polaris kissed seconds longer, but Bobby pulled away and looked out the window.

"Sorry," Bobby said quietly. Kitty's face was staring back at him in his mind.

"What am I doing?" Bobby thought to himself, kissing someone he just met for about an hour.

"Yeah, me too." Polaris said. "Guess it was too quick."

"Yeah, we shouldn't have done that," Bobby said, a little bit upset, "Sorry, but excuse me."

Bobby left the room, wanting to talk to Kitty but he decided to just watch TV to get his mind off the drama of relationships. He didn't know what to do.

Rogue heard Kitty crying in her room. She was truly heartbroken at the sight of those two kissing. She couldn't explain the feeling she had, it was like jealous, rage, fear, sadness, and a touch of helplessness all combined into one big disaster for her heart.

"Oh gawd," Rogue thought, "Please tell me my advice didn't cause this."

Rogue entered the room and saw Kitty crying hysterically.

"What's wrong Kitty?" Rogue asked, concerned.

"He...he..." Kitty was gasping for breaths as she cried.

"Bobby?"

"Yeah..he...he...kissed her! Again!"

"I'm sure it's just his stupid hormones and puberty and what not."

"Yeah, sure. You should see them … them kiss! That stupid skank!"

"Why don't you just tell him you love him?"

"And see them kiss again? I don't think so. I already tried."

"You aren't going to get anywhere if you hold a meaningless grudge."

"Whatever."

"Kitty?" Bobby said, knocking on the door. He was still troubled with his quick relationship with Polaris and was hoping that he could talk to Kitty.

"Here's your chance." said Rogue, giving her a look that says she should try.

"Tell him I'm away. I don't want to see him." Kitty said, before phasing through her bed and the floor.

Rogue sighed. "Is it really that hard to just confess the love they have for each other?"

Night soon fell on the X-Men mansion and all the X-Men went to sleep. Most of them slept peacefully but Kitty was tossing and turning in her bed.

_AH!!!!_

_  
Kitty ran down the hall. Running away from the Brotherhood that was following her. All she can do was run, but Quicksilver was obviously much faster. She moved back, but Avalanche was right behind her and he started to create a rock slide. She tried to phase through the rock slide but her powers won't work for some reason and she soon gets buried under the rock slide._

"_Help!" Kitty yells as loud as she could from under the rock slide. Soon, she could see light from above the rocks and she saw Bobby's face._

"_Oh thank god! Bobby!" Kitty yelled, excited her best friend had saved her. But Bobby just stared back at her and does nothing. Polaris walk up next to him and hugs him and then they both walk away._

"_Bobby! Bobby!" Kitty yells but they both disappeared._

"Ahh!" Kitty yells as she wakes up from the nightmare. Usually after a nightmare like this she would go to Bobby's room and he would be more than happy to hug and sleep with her. But what do you do when the only person that can stop your tears is the one that caused them?

"Kitty?"

She heard Bobby's voice from behind her door.

"Is everything all right?!" the voice continued, a little shaky as if he was worried.

"I'm fine!" Kitty replied in a bratty tone, still upset over the Bobby/Polaris relationship. "You can leave!"

"Just wanted to make sure." Bobby said before heading back to his room. He was a little bit confused but he trusted Kitty and if she wanted to be alone he'll let her.

But Kitty wasn't fine, she started to sob and cry. Her mind was everywhere, she just couldn't focus. She turned on the radio and a Taylor Swift song has started to play.

_I'm dreaming about the the day _

_When you wake up and find that what_

_Who you're looking for has been here the whole time.  
If you could see that I'm the one who understands you  
Been here all along so why can't you see.  
You belong with me._

"So true," thought Kitty.

Morning soon came but Kitty just stayed in her room, still upset. She was reading a book when Rogue came in.

"Come on Kitty. You know Bobby will go head over heels to apologize if he knew that you're this upset because of him," Rogue stated.

"I don't care," said Kitty.

"Gosh Kitty, I'm telling you that if you just say 'I love you' to Bobby or just say _something_ to him this whole mess can be fixed in a heartbeat."

"And I'm telling you I don't care. Now just leave me alone."

Rogue sighed as she left the room.

During dinner, Kitty quickly finished her meal and went up to her room. Bobby thought that Kitty was acting off and decided to follow her into her room.

"Kitty, are you alright?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, just fine, didn't know you cared so much," Kitty said, her back to Bobby.

"Of course I care, you're my best friend," Bobby said, trying to hug Kitty, but Kitty just phased through it.

"I appreciate it and whatever, but please, just leave me alone," Kitty said as she phased herself to downstairs, leaving a dumbfounded Bobby just standing their upset.

"This is so annoying," thought Kitty. "Love sucks."

__________________________________________________________________________________

**Authors Notes:**

Yes, I know the flashback was about half this chapter. Anyways, as stated before, creative writing is my weak spot when it comes to writing and romance is probably the hardest for me. I'm still not completely happy with this chapter but I edited and edited and I think this is the best that will come out of it.

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISCM IS ALWAYS WELCOMED.


	3. Battle!

**This is a story about two X-Men: Iceman and Shadowcat. They must go on an adventure to save their fellow teammates but through this adventure, they learn more about themselves and each other.**

**This is their third chapter.**

Mystique was located at the dark, mysterious room where she has been previously, confronting a mysterious voice in the shadows. "Master, some complications with the plans has occurred. Magneto and his Acolytes are staying at the mansion. We can't possibly defeat both the X-Men and Magneto."

"Hmm," said the shadows, processing the situation, "Well, let's distract Magneto and his Acolytes. Ask the MRD to send 35 Sentinels to Genosha. After he leaves, carry out with the original plans."

"Yes, of course, I'll get right on that." Mystique murmured respectively, as her yellow eyes disappeared in the shadows.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Wolverine asked Magneto, who was getting ready to fly back to Genosha along with his family and Acolytes.

"A big Sentinel attack has started on Genosha," Magneto responded, his voice rushed with strains of worry, someone was attacking his home, his paradise! "I have to go."

"This isn't just some distraction, is it?" asked Wolverine skeptical as always, which was just who he was, trust no one, trust no thing, everything known about you could lead to your downfall.

"It isn't," Magneto reassured him, "In fact, you X-Men don't have to come with me. It's my island and my issue. I'll settle this myself."

"Fine," Wolverine growled, "I don't know what you're planning but you better hope nothing happens."

"Very well," Magneto replied as he and his Acolytes started to return to Genosha.

Mystique (disguised as Storm) approached the mansion a few hours after Magneto left to Genosha. Behind her, the mutant's Vertigo, Multiple Man, Selene, Arclight, Harry LeLand, Sebastian Shaw, Donald Pierce, Blockbuster, and three Sentinels got ready for battle. Sebastian Shaw was grinning evilly to himself and cracking his knuckles while staring out at the mutant crew.

"Magneto has already left. I will go in as Storm and disable the security," Mystique announced, "Wolverine will probably smell me out after a few minutes so you _must_ act quickly. As soon as the security is down, _make your move__._

"Vertigo, you go in first and incapacitate the X-Men, confuse their minds, and next the Sentinels will go in and capture them," commanded Mystique, laying out the battle plan, every mutant was listening intently, eager to hear their part in the X-Men's downfall. "Multiple Man, you can take Shadowcat. Harry, you fight Cyclops. Arclight, you get Iceman. Selene, battle Rogue. Blockbuster, you and I will take Wolverine. Donald and Sebastian, take Beast. The Sentinels will take care of Angel and Nightcrawler.

"Tonight is a historic night my friends, because tonight, tonight the X-Men fall!" Mystique whisper yelled, punching her fist in the air, as the rest of the mutants cheered, albeit quietly.

Mystique entered the mansion and quickly disabled the security system, she was just about to send a signal to the group, but as luck would have it, Angel saw her.

"Storm!" called Angel, worry in his voice. Enough worry to make Mystique wonder if they were more than just friends, if they were, it could be valuable information. "Where have you been all this time? Is Jess all right?"

"She's just fine," replied Mystique, without emotion, keeping a straight face, but allowing a smile to cross her face.

"We were worried Storm," said Wolverine, sniffing. He smirked. "A shape shifter, eh? Now where's Storm you worthless piece of trash?" He growled at her.

"She's fine," Mystique said coyly, transforming back into herself, "But you won't be so fortunate."

"Don't intrude on our ho-" Wolverine started to say, before he and Angel fell to the ground, having pain in their heads, grabbing at their heads in an attempt to shield themselves. Vertigo strutted into the mansion, her hands emitting green vibrations as she messed with the two X-Men's heads, an evil smile on her face.

A red blast struck Vertigo and she tumbled to the ground. Mystique stared back at the source of the blast and saw Cyclops. "Thanks," Wolverine said rather gruffly, climbing to his feet and unsheating his claws.

Mystique wasted no time. She did a front flip over Wolverine and ended up behind him and made a quick roundhouse kick, which Wolverine blocked with his arm, turning to face her. He tried to slash Mystique with his claws but she just did a backwards flip. He attempted charging at her but she dodged each attack and let out a few kicks and punches, which Wolverine also dodged. Both were slightly panting, but neither would give up.

Throughout all of this, the rest of the mutants and Sentinels from Mystique entered the mansion and found each of their respective opponents, just as she had planned, however, the question was, would the plan work? None of the villains saw why it wouldn't. After all, were they not the most talented mutants?

Multiple Man found Shadowcat in her room and quickly summoned five clones of himself. "Fight all you want," Multiple Man jeered in a threatening tone, braced for battle, "But you can't win."

"We'll see," replied Shadowcat, in a rather nonchalant voice, as she ran toward the clones.

One of the clones tried to kick her and another one tried to punch her at the same time, but she just phased through. She solidified her leg as it connected to a clone's head and it disappeared. Another clone attempted to body slam her but the clone just phased through and hit the floor, and it too disappeared. Kitty solidified herself and grabbed one of the clones, spun it around, and threw it at another clone, both of them also disappearing as they collided. The last clone came charging at her with a fist but she just used her arm to block the punch and kicked him at his side.

"There's plenty more of where that came from," Multiple Man said, as he created ten more clones appeared.

Kitty charged at one clone and grabbed its arm. Before the clone could respond, Kitty tossed the clone around in a circle as if the clone was a bat. The clone hit every clone around him and finally Kitty threw the clone directly at another clone. She then phased through all the other clones in an attempt to reach the farthest Multiple Man, which she suspected to be the real one. She jumped up and kicked it, but it turned out just to be another clone. Soon, the other clones piled up on her while she was distracted, so she didn't phase through. After some struggling, Kitty was able to phase through them and she just blocked all the punches and kicks that came at her. After some flips, she started to take the offensive and punched/kicked all the clones until they were down.

"You'll get tired soon," Multiple Man stated, as he summoned twenty more clones.

Meanwhile, Arclight found Iceman in the East Hallway. "Ugh, another second-rate villain? _Complete _waste of my time," the young blonde joked, crossing his arms.

"We'll see who's second rate after I'm finished," Arclight responded, his hands glowing purple.

Iceman shrugged, "It'll still be you."

Arclight punched the ground with his purple-glowing fist. The ground began to tremble as purple, seismic waves radiated off the punch. Iceman turned into his all ice form and shot some sharp icicles at Arclight but Arclight just created a very effective force field. Iceman, riding on his ice slide, shot an ice-beam around the force field but it had no effect. Arclight quickly took down the force field to shoot some seismic waves from his hand, aiming at Iceman. Iceman dodged it but his ice slide got hit and started to become unstable and Iceman fell to the ground. Arclight, with a glowing purple fist, hit the ground again and caused more tremors and some the ceiling started to come down. Iceman created an ice dome to protect himself from the falling ceiling but after the tremors stopped Arclight started to walk over to him. Using his purple fist, he punched the ice dome and single-handedly destroyed it, grabbing Iceman by the shirt.

"Nighty night. And I guess this proves that you're just a sad, pathetic second rate hero," Arclight said, smiling sinisterly as he raised his purple fist, getting ready to punch Iceman.

"You know you really shouldn't be so close to me," Iceman responded, still looking like he could care less about Arclight, "It's about to get very, _very_ cold."

Before Arclight could punch him, Iceman started to lower the temperature of the air around them and the water vapor in the air started to freeze. The walls started to make a cracking sound as ice covered it and the floor started to look like that of an ice rink. Arclight had to quickly let go of Iceman and created a force field around himself to prevent himself from getting frozen.

"You're playing in my field now . . . Or would it be my rink? I'm not totally sure." Iceman said, musing over his tiny discovery.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Mutant identified," boomed a Sentinel as he targeted Nightcrawler. The Sentinel raised his hand and it glowed purple as a purple beam came from it. Nightcrawler quickly teleported away and teleported on the Sentinel's head.

"Mutant identified," boomed another Sentinel as he aimed at Nightcrawler, who was on the head of the other Sentinel. The purple beam shot at Nightcrawler, who simply teleported away and the beam hit the other Sentinel's head.

Angel was fighting the third Sentinel and flying all over the place. The Sentinel attempted to grab Angel but he just flitted away to another spot. If the Sentinel tried to grab him with his right hand, Angel would just fly toward its leg and the Sentinel wasn't flexible enough to grab him. Unfortunately, another Sentinel has locked onto Angel and shot a purple beam after him, which hit his wings.

"Angel!" Nightcrawler cried out, teleporting to his friend's aid. The remaining Sentinels were about to hit them with simultaneous laser beams but Nightcrawler was able to teleport them away to another room, temporarily escaping the wrath of the Sentinel's.

Cyclops was walking down the stairs when Harry confronted him. Cyclops raised his hand and shot a red optic blast at Harry, which directly hit him and he went flying back before hitting a wall. Cyclops fired more optic blasts at him and they all hit Harry, but Harry got up and aimed his hand at Cyclops. Cyclops started to feel very heavy as Harry's ability to add mass to any object started to affect him. Cyclops fell to the ground and tried to get up, but the body mass Harry has imposed on him was too much. Cyclops attempted to fire another optic blast at Harry but he couldn't even lift up his head.

After a while, Cyclops has finally gained enough strength, and was able to raise his hand and he shot an optic blast at the floor below him, causing him to fall down to the dark basement, but also escaping Harry's powers. Cyclops was relieved to feel like his old self and found a hiding place behind some boxes, hoping to escape Harry's power from affecting him. Cyclops felt cowardly in having to hide, but he knew it was necessary if he wanted to live, besides, Logan would do the same thing in his position. _Damn!_ He thought angrily. _Stop thinking about what Logan would or wouldn't do! He's not the real leader, the professor is, and he'll come to his senses soon enough. Logan is just a temporary idiotic mistake!_ Feeling better, Cyclops found comfort in this thought, and tried to ignore the fact that the professor rarely made mistakes, but he didn't have time to dwell on it long.

Just moments after Cyclops found his hiding place, Harry plummeted down the same hole that Cyclops created. "Where are you?" Harry called in a singsong voice, the one you always hear from someone trying to hunt down another someone. "You can't hide forever," Harry taunted.

Harry twisted around as he heard something behind him, he turned just in time to see a red blast come from the dark. He tried to use his mutant power but was hit by the blast and flew back. He quickly scrambled to his feet, hoping to see where Cyclops is to use his power but the basement was just too dark and he had to keep his eyes open just in case Cyclops attempted to strike again.

"Damn," Harry said under his breath, he could only hope the others were faring better than he.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Selene came into Rogue's room. "My, my, the girl who can't touch anybody," taunted Selene, "If that's your only power, this will be too easy."

Selene, using her telekinetic power to lift things by infusing part of her life in them, lifted a desk and threw it at Rogue, who instinctively dove to the right to dodge the flying desk. Selene lifted more tables and chairs and targeted them at Rogue, but Rogue was able to easily dodge all of them with her trained reflexes.

Selene then tried another one of her abilities, one that allows her to warp the molecules of inanimate objects. She decided to warp a pipe behind Rogue's wall and controlled it to attack Rogue and try to constrict her. Rogue attempted to run and she ran out to the hall but Selene made the pipe follow Rogue at top speed. Just about when the pipe was about to reach Rogue, she did a backwards flip to dodge the pipe and she started to run in the other direction.

Selene, growing impatient, threw vases, chairs, couches, and picture frames at Rogue. Rogue managed to dodge many of the objects being thrown at her but a stray couch managed to push her into a corner. The pipe then caught up to Rogue and constricted her, leaving Rogue stuck there.

"Too easy," Selene said, before a blue, gorilla-like mutant tackled her to the ground.

"Sorry Selene!" yelled Donald and Sebastian as they tried to catch up to Beast. Selene lost her concentration, the pipe returned to being a pipe and Rogue was freed.

"Thanks Beast," Rogue huffed, reaching out with her bare hand to touch Selene, stealing her powers and knocking Selene unconscious at the same time.

Donald started to emit energy blasts at Beast and Rogue but Rogue, now with Selene's powers at her diposal, used a couch as a barrier to the blasts. Rogue lifted up a chair and threw it at Sebastian, who fell back, but absorbed the kinetic energy and used the absorbed energy to increase his strength and stamina. Sebastian ran up to Rogue and Beast, using his increased strength, tried to attack Beast. They rolled around on the ground until Rogue used Selene's vampire abilities to interfere and starting to drain the life of Sebastian. Donald fired an energy blast at Rogue, stopping her from absorbing the life of Sebastian. Beast and Sebastian continued to fight and Rogue warped a pipe to attack Donald the same way Selene tried to attack her.

Just as the pipe started to constrict Donald, Selene woke up from unconsciousness and ran up to Rogue and started to drain her of her life. Beast, seeing Rogue in trouble, did an upwards kick to send Sebastian flying at Selene. Rogue was about to touch both of them, rendering them unconscious when Donald shot an energy blast at her as he freed himself from the pipe.

"Three against two," Donald said triumphantly, "Odds are in our favor now."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wolverine was having trouble battling Mystique as her hand to hand combat skills were quite formidable. Nevertheless, he was giving her quite a hard time and vice versa. Wolverine charged at her with his claws but she just did flips everywhere. Soon, Blockbuster joined in on the fight. His superhuman mass granted him superhuman strength, stamina, and durability. Blockbuster picked up a large table and threw it at Wolverine, who just slashed it to protect himself.

Mystique came running up to him and gave him a swift kick, but Wolverine caught her leg. He picked her up and threw her at Blockbuster. Since Blockbuster was so big, he was unaffected but Mystique took quite a hit. Blockbuster then charged at Wolverine and Wolverine tried to hit stab him with his claws but his mass made the impact practically nothing. He grabbed Wolverine and threw him against the wall.

Blockbuster came charging at Wolverine again but Wolverine just jumped atop of him and turned around, making Wolverine behind Blockbuster. Wolverine punched and clawed Blockbuster. Even Blockbuster could not take such abuse, and was eventually injured and he fell down. Mystique transformed into Wolverine, even using his claws, and started to attack Wolverine. She used her claws to try to slash Wolverine but he used his claws to block the attack. Wolverine kicked at her stomach and she fell back. She flew to her feet and lunged at Wolverine.

Both of them rolled around in the ground, avoiding each other's claws. Wolverine eventually got the upper hand and kicked Mystique off but she got back up. Wolverine ran at her and she punched him to the side, causing him to fall. He quickly got up before Mystique could stab him with her claws and he jumped at her with his fists in the air. His fists connected with Mystique's back and she fell on the ground, just as Blockbuster got up and started to charge at Wolverine.

"Just great," Wolverine sighed, exasperated, his claws flashing in the light.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I must thank Double I 4 My Guyz and XOXHeartAmy for beta-reading this chapter.


	4. Battle!: Iceman and Shadowcat

**This is a story about two X-Men: Iceman and Shadowcat. They must go on an adventure to save their fellow teammates but through this adventure, they learn more about themselves and each other.**

**This is their fourth chapter.**

"Ahhh!" was all Shadowcat yelled as one of Multiple Man's clones hit her at the side before she had a chance to phase.

She fell down in the middle of 20 other Multiple Man Clones. She saw another kick coming her way and this time she phased through in time. Shadowcat did a handstand and starting spinning her legs in a circular motion in an impressively fast rate. Any clone that got near her got a swift kick to the face.

"Impressive," teased Multiple Man as he now made 30 clones.

"I don't know how much longer I can last..." thought Shadowcat before 30 clones started charging at her.

Shadowcat quickly jumped up and kicked a clone down and phased herself as a few punches came her way. She grabbed the nearest clone and threw it at five other clones that were near her, but another clone kicked her to the side as she was distracted. She started to pant, her heart was racing. Her hair was a mess from all the fighting, her leg had a small limp, and her left arm was in pain. She truly was starting to feel like a disaster.

"I can't give up now," she thought, "I'm an X-Men."

She got up slowly and got in her battling position. She saw a kick coming to her head but she ducked and she swung her foot in a circular motion, similar to how one breakdances. Another clone was running up to her and she punched him. But once again, as she was distracted, two clones grabbed her arms and was about to slam her into a wall but she phased through their grasp. She kicked one of them on the head and punched the other one at the same time.

Multiple Man cloned himself even more, now creating 50 clones.

"It just never ends," Kitty sighed. She could feel herself slipping. The amount of energy she had left was decreasing drastically. Her mind was telling her to keep going but her body was failing to respond more and more.

The 50 Multiple Man clones now started charging at her. She forced herself to get up and get ready to fight more. 10 clones jumped up and Kitty phased herself so the clones just passed her and hit the wall. She saw another clone coming to her in the corner of her eye and she did a swift kick to its side, making the clone fall. Yet, another clone appeared from behind Kitty and tried to punch her, but she managed to phase through again and elbowed the clone, hard in the stomach.

Kitty saw a clone to the side and was about to punch it when another clone was about to attack her to her other side. She also saw another clone in front of her and she could hear one coming from the back. She was being surrounded. She didn't know what else to do other than just stand there and phase her body, but it was taking a lot of her energy. Finally, she attempted to do a hard kick to the clones in front of her, but the clones to the back of her took the chance and gave her some hard punches and she flew back and got hit against the cabinet.

"I can't do this anymore," Kitty said. She tried to force her body to move but it just wouldn't budge. She was simply too exhausted.

"Can't do this anymore?" Multiple Man taunted, "What's wrong? Little kitty can't fight back?"

"Ugh," Kitty thought, "What am I going to do?" She slowly closed her eyes and shifted into unconsciousness.

"What do you mean you don't know what to do?" A voice said. Kitty found herself in an all white setting. She didn't know where she was but she could hear the voice. The voice … it sounded really familiar.

"Who's...who's there?" She screamed.

"It's just me, Kit," the voice said again, but this time Bobby appeared right in front of Kitty.

"Bobby?" Kitty said in disbelief, but her body felt warm at the sight of him. She really enjoyed seeing him there.

"Hey," Bobby continued in a sarcastic tone, "Looks like you're having trouble."

"No duh," Kitty sighed, recalling her fight with Multiple Man. "It's impossible for me to defeat him. He'll just make more clones."

"You can't give up," Bobby said, "You're too good for that." He stared at her with his blue eyes, they were deep and serious, but still warm and inviting like they normally were. Kitty stared into them and realized Bobby was right, she can't just give up.

"Thanks Bobby," she said. She went over and hugged Bobby and she received that same strange feeling she had before. But this time, she didn't mind it. She felt stronger as she hugged Bobby, she could feel the adrenaline moving through her veins. It made her feel more alive, more rejuvenated. She felt as if she could do anything.

All of a sudden, she opened her eyes and saw numerous clones of Multiple Man. The past fight suddenly rushed into her mind and she quickly recalled it all. "Can't give up," she thought, but she also thought of another idea. She phased her hand into the lowest drawer of the cabinet and took out 2 steel swords that were curved in the middle. The swords were a gift from Wolverine for her 16th birthday but she never thought she would actually use them in a battle.

With a new found sense of confidence and strength, she quickly charged at the clones were her twin swords. She quickly slashed, stabbed, and fought any clone that was in her sight and she was extremely accurate. In just a matter of minutes, all the clones disappeared.

Multiple Man was genuinely surprised at her sudden bolt of energy, but he simply cloned himself even more.

But this time, Kitty wasn't the least bit worried.

**Meanwhile:**

Iceman and Arclight were fighting in a setting that was almost completely covered in ice, since Iceman recently froze the whole hallway. The walls, floor, and ceiling were completely encased in ice and icicles can even be seen dangling from the ceiling.

Arclight raised his hand a purple sphere surrounded it, emitting energy. He smashed his fist against the wall and it started to tremble, causing the ice to crack and to fall off the ceiling on Iceman. He quickly created an ice shield around him, but Arclight smashed his fist against the ground, causing powerful, purple vibrations to break his ice shield.

Iceman outstretched his arm and shot an ice beam at Arclight, who dodged and smashed his fist again at the floor, causing more purple vibrations to spread across in a circular format on the floor. Iceman was caught off-guard and the vibrations caused him to slam against the wall. As Iceman was opening his eyes and refocusing, he saw three shining projectiles in the shape of spears coming right at him in his path of sight.

"Great," Bobby thought , "Harpoon's here, just when I thought Arclight was enough trouble." Bobby focused on the spears as he froze the water vapor in the air in front of them. Crystals started to form around the spears and soon the spears accumulated too much weight to travel in the air and gravity took over as the spear projectiles dropped to the ground.

Harpoon took out three more small spears from his pocket and using his mutant ability, he charged them and his spears was surrounded by a turquoise-blue field of energy. He threw them at Iceman while Arclight raised both of his hands and used his mutant ability to make a purple, circular field of energy to surround his hands. Arclight smashed his fist into the ground and power vibrations shook the ground. The vibrations were power enough to shake the ceiling and caused a nearby chandelier to fall to the ground.

Iceman focused his energy and created an ice slide to avoid the powerful vibrations but the spears hit his ice slide and it broke right beneath his fight. Iceman started to plummet to the ground but Arclight ran up to Iceman, jumped, and smashed his fist into Iceman's chest with a lot of force. His purple fist amplified the amount of power his punch did and also caused Iceman's body to feel shaken up and temporarily dysfunctional.

Iceman flew back from Arclight's punch so hard that the wall could not break his fall and broke, causing Iceman to take a hard landing in the next room. Harpoon came in and took out a six foot spear and jammed the spear into Iceman's chest. The impact left a massive hole in the center of Iceman's chest and caused his ice body to crack. Harpoon stabbed Iceman with his spear several more times until his body just turned into a pile of ice cubes.

"Um," Arclight said hesitantly to Harpoon. "I thought we were suppose to capture him alive."

"Doesn't matter," Harpoon snarled, "He's gone, we did our job. Let's go and inform Mystiq-"

"What's wrong now Harpoon?" Arclight said as he noticed Harpoon didn't finish his last sentence. He turned around to see Harpoon unconscious and frozen and Iceman standing over him.

Iceman had jumped from the ceiling while Harpoon wasn't paying attention and struck him with an ice club with tremendous force. Harpoon was rendered unconscious immediately.

"I thought you were dead!" yelled Arclight in disbelief.

"Nah," Iceman responded cooly, "Harpoon just destroyed an ice sculpture of myself that I made and I just hid on the ceiling. It's a shame though, that ice sculpture looked very real, didn't it?"

Arclight stared at the pile of ice that Harpoon has destroyed, thinking it was the real Iceman. "This kid may be more powerful and clever than we had originally thought," he thought. "No matter, I'll end this." His hands were once again encased in purple spheres that emit energy. He started creating an unstable dome of energy surrounding him. He expanded the dorm more and more, it resembles that of a nuclear explosion. The energy that made up the dome was extremely dangerous and would hurt anyone that came into contact with it.

Iceman quickly shot an ice beam at the dome but it had no affect. The dome just continued to expand and expand. "I can't let the dome touch me," Iceman thought. He didn't know how powerful that dome was but it did not look good and he can't let himself lose this battle. He shot another ice beam but it still had no affect. He shot another and another but as soon as the beam hit the dome, it just stopped and didn't even encase the dome with any ice.

He shot some sharp ice projectiles from his hands but they fell to pieces as soon as they hit the dome. Iceman started to freeze the water vapor into the shape of a heavy sphere and threw it at the dome, but that sphere broke into pieces as it came in contact with the dome as well. He tried to create more powerful ice beams but to no avail. The dome was starting to seem unstoppable.

"Think, Iceman, think," Bobby said to himself. "Come on, there must be something to stop it. Just think."

Bobby stood there, trying to think of a solution in little time. The dome was expanding more and more and there was only three feet left between him and the dome.

"Damn it!" Bobby yelled, "How am I suppose to stop this dome? Maybe I should just run." Bobby turned and began freezing the wall to make it easier to break and escape from.

"I thought you were an X-Men," a voice said from behind. Bobby turned and saw Kitty staring at him, hands on her hips.

"This is impossible. If I run, I at least have a chance to fight another day," Bobby said, his eyes showed defeat.

"You're an X-Men. The term "impossible" is not in our dictionary," Kitty said bluntly. Her eyes seemed to be flaming, filled with energy.

"You're right," Bobby replied, "But how am I suppose to defeat him and his dome?"

"Use your brain," Kitty stated, "That is, if you have one. Look at where the source of power of the dome is from. It's from his hands. If you can stop him from using his hands then you can stop the dome."

Bobby stared back at the dome and noticed that Kitty was right. The source of power did come from his hands.

"Wow, thanks Kitty," Bobby exclaimed, but when he looked back Kitty wasn't there anymore, as if she disappeared into thin air. "It was just a hallucination?" thought Bobby, but he didn't have enough time to worry about that yet. He had to stop the dome, which is now only a foot away from him.

He started to focus on Arclight's hands. He targeted his powers into only one thing, Arclight's hands. The molecules around Arclight's hands started to move slower and slower as Bobby used his power. Crystals started to form and soon Bobby had also slowed the molecules of the purple sphere around Arclight's hands as well. Bobby had froze Arclight's hands and prevented him from using his power. With one final ice beam, Bobby froze Arclight.

"Phew," Bobby said in relief, "That was close."

He could hear heavy fighting down in Kitty's room.

"Kitty!" Bobby exclaimed, he ran down to Kitty's room as fast as he could as his mind started to pray that Kitty was alright.

When he finally reached Kitty's room, he saw Kitty getting thrown back against a wall. Despite her recent comeback, she eventually succumbed due to the tremendous number of clones. There was literally at least 1,000 clones on the ground unconscious and at least 500 more perfectly conscious and ready to fight.

Bobby saw Kitty hurt and his eyes widened. "Bastard!" he yelled as he shot multiple ice beams all over the room, freezing every single clone and the real Multiple Man himself. He ran over to Kitty and carried her in his arms and his eyes filled with worry and sorrow as he feared that Kitty might be dead. Then, Kitty opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Bobby's face. She smiled at the sight of it and noticed his worried eyes. Bobby was so grateful and happy that Kitty was alright that he automatically hugged Kitty as tightly as he could.

"I'm fine," Kitty stated, smiling, "You can let go of me. You're hugging too tightly."

"Sorry," Bobby said, giving an even bigger smile back.

Kitty looked around at all the frozen Multiple Mans. "Thanks," Kitty said, with more sadness in her voice. She was upset that Bobby could defeat Multiple Man as simply and quickly as in a matter of seconds while she was almost defeated by him. She was wondering if she really belonged as an X-Men.

Bobby responded as if he could read Kitty's mind, "Don't be so upset. Whoever attacked us planned every move and sent Multiple Man to attack you since he could tire you out. You could have easily defeated anyone else but whoever did this exploited your weakness. You're an X-Men, and you're good at being one."

Kitty smiled back and noticed that he's right. She did belong as an X-Men.

"Thanks Bobby, you always knew what to say," Kitty stated.

"You don't have to thank me. I'm just stating what's true," Bobby replied as he wrapped his arm around Kitty's shoulder, helping her walk.

"Now let's go and see if anyone else needs our help," Bobby continued and the two young X-Men walked out of the room. Both of them didn't tell each other about the hallucinations, dreams, or whatever they called them about each other, but they both knew how important they were to the other.

Together, they felt unstoppable.

**Author's Notes:**

As usual, please read and review. This is personally one of my favorite chapters ;)

There will also be a Battle!: Nightcrawler, Angel, and Cyclops as well as a Battle!: Rogue, Beast, and Wolverine. Remy and Colossus will also come up in the story. There might be a mini Battle! with Emma and Jean and perhaps Storm and maybe, just maybe, Forge.

As a side note, I'm also temporarily halting the series (not ending it though!). As you can tell since I haven't updated my story for about a month, school has been busy and friends have been fun so it's harder to write more and more. I will continue it, but at most I will probably update once a month during 3 day weekends and breaks. I probably won't update until Thanksgiving break, since one of my beta readers no longer have Internet access. I'll try my best to do so before then though :).


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